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When Nintendo announced they were developing a DS game which involved their famous green garbed hero and a train, Zelda fans worldwide were swearing under their breath. The name ‘Wii’ had already pushed many westerners over the edge and now in the very same generation Nintendo was creating a game that involved Link and some magical train. So now that we’ve established the Gods at Nintendo are sniffing some low-quality paint, let’s get on with this review.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is the latest entry in the toon Zelda series. In this game, the events are set exactly 100 years after The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Link is a rail engineer. Yes, that’s right, a rail engineer. He is a fully-qualified rail engineer – how cool is that? Anyway, on the same day Link is to be awarded the title of rail engineer, the spirit tracks (the mystical train tracks in this new Zelda world) begin to disappear. Chaos then breaks loose, and in a blink of an eye Chancellor Cole and Byrne (Staven), the new villains of the game, dislodge Zelda’s spirit from her body to free the Demon King, Malladus. From here on, it is up to Link and Zelda’s spirit to restore the spirit tracks, recover Zelda’s body and bring back peace to the land of Hyrule.

Unlike the mediocre storyline in Spirit Tracks, the gameplay in the title is actually bearable. Okay, so ‘bearable’ may be exaggerating things a little, but the gameplay in this new Zelda title is honestly much better than the weak storyline and relatively forgettable characters. Anyway, Spirit Tracks runs on the exact same engine as Phantom Hourglass, so as expected, this new DS Zelda title plays and feels exactly like the previous one. Gamers who were lucky enough to experience Phantom Hourglass will feel right at home with Spirit Tracks. Apart from the new storyline, locations and characters, about the only other noticeable thing about Spirit Tracks is that the whole game is more refined than its predecessor. The layout of the menus are better, Link’s roll is easier to execute, the HUB world is arguably more fun and the Spirit Tower (previously known as the Temple of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass) sections of the game are far less frustrating this time round thanks to the addition of Princess Zelda.

So now that it has been confirmed that the game is basically Phantom Hourglass 2.0, we can move onto analysing the finer points of the game and why they are an enhancement on the original DS Zelda title. To begin with, the temples in Spirit Tracks are a vast improvement on the ones in Phantom Hourglass. Every temple in Spirit Tracks has the perfect mixture of easy, average and complex puzzles, and the same goes for the enemies. This makes the gameplay totally addictive, enjoyable, frustrating and rewarding all at the same time, and will keep players coming back for more. The gameplay in the HUB world of the game (also known as Hyrule to Zelda fans) has been fine tuned as well. Once again, everything is now more balanced. So when going on a train journey through the land of Hyrule, players will pass the occasional town, face off against enemies and maybe stop to have a chat to a random character or trader (*cough* Beadle) every now and again. Link’s Train in Spirit Tracks can also be upgraded and customised just like his boat in Phantom Hourglass, though this time round, the majority of the upgrades aren’t necessary in order to complete the game. As a whole, the gameplay in Spirit Tracks is almost perfectly balanced. And although the hub world is still on rails it feels like an improvement on Phantom Hourglass.

Disappointingly, however, there are a few problems with the gameplay. Besides the obvious (*cough* the train *cough*), there is Link’s new musical instrument, the Spirit Flute. At times it can often become a hassle and major distraction from the main quest. The blowing in general throughout the game can become quite irritating as well. During his adventure, Link acquires a weapon which requires the player to repeatedly blow into the mic to function it, and frankly, this just becomes a pain in the neck (literally) when the player has to constantly move their head in towards the DS to get a weapon to work properly. Besides the sections of the game that require players to have a healthy set of lungs, the gameplay in Spirit Tracks is mainly spot on from start to finish. Some could argue that this title has recycled a few ideas from the previous Zelda games, which might seem lazy, but others might interpret this as nostalgic.

The multiplayer in Spirit Tracks is a pleasant surprise. Four players run around a number of themed levels collecting Force Gems, throwing bombs at one another, dodging Phantoms and using power-ups. This really is a lot of fun and will actually have people coming back for more, assuming that they actually give this side of the game a chance. The multiplayer is definitely a step up on the fairly average multiplayer in Phantom Hourglass, so if you have three friends (no, not pretend ones) then you must give it a go sometime.

In the sound and visuals department, Spirit Tracks is essentially the same as Phantom Hourglass. There are still handy 2D maps, stunning cel-shaded graphics and many impressive cut scenes. The visuals haven’t aged one bit, and unlike the many other DS games out on the market, Spirit Tracks is actually pushing the DS’s visual capabilities. On the sound front, the musical scores are magnificent; there are many catchy tunes within the game and also plenty of traditional sounds. Zelda fans and regular players are sure to be pleased with both the sound and graphics in Spirit Tracks.

As mentioned earlier in this review, Spirit Tracks is basically just Phantom Hourglass 2.0. There are new characters to meet, locations to visit and things to do, but at the end of the day it is still running on the same engine as Phantom Hourglass, meaning that the gameplay, visuals and sound are pretty much unchanged. None of these is a bad thing, however, as it is a more polished Zelda DS experience overall. Of course, there are a few minor downsides such as the weak storyline, forgettable characters and regular blowing sections, but asides from these The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks truly is an improvement on Phantom Hourglass and a worthy addition to any DS owner’s collection.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: A

The visuals in this title are outstanding. Even though they are the exactly the same as the ones that featured in Phantom Hourglass, they still look great by today’s standards. This is also one of the few recently released games to make proper use of the DS’s visual capabilities.

Sound: A

The musical scores and sounds are superb.

Gameplay: A-

Besides the blowing sections, the gameplay in Spirit Tracks is excellent. It is like a Phantom Hourglass 2.0. The game is more refined overall than its predecessor.

Overall: A-

The majority of the gameplay is fantastic, but at the end of the day this game has to be rated as a whole, and considering that this is a Zelda title with a mundane storyline, forgettable characters (none as memorable as Linebeck) and a few other annoying problems, it cannot be awarded the perfect score.